Crowdfunding is a success for charity

A local charity has raised an amazing £680,000 to fund a revolutionary medical trial - over two thirds of its ambitious £900,000 target.

The charity, Funding Neuro, was founded by Bearsden man Bryn Williams after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2007, when he was just 36 years old.

The married dad-of-two initially set up a ‘Wobbly Williams’ website and blog to provide help and support to other people diagnosed with the condition. He then established Funding Neuro to fund research into a possible cure for Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders.

He’s taking part in a groundbreaking medical trial himself, which is being led by neurosurgeon Professor Steven Gill, based at Bristol’s Frenchay Hospital which aims to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.

Professor Gill will also be carrying out a new trail with 18 children who have deadly brain tumours. His team will deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into the affected part of the brain.

Professor Gill said: “If chemotherapy drugs are put into the blood, just one per cent gets to the brain, so you can’t get sufficient drug across the blood-brain barrier without killing the child.

“Putting it directly into the brain means that you don’t get the side-effects of the chemotherapy, and it carries on working for several weeks.”

Every single penny of the £680,000 amount raised so far has been through a crowdfunding initiative which was launched last June, including one anonymous donation of £300,000 towards the £900,000 total needed.

Bryn Williams said: “I’m over the moon that we’ve raised so much in such a short time.

“We’ve got big ideas and lots of passionate people on board which is a winning combination.”